Tuesday, December 23, 2003

SPIDER-MAN MOVIE UPDATE

Alfred Molina says he has "surrendered" to the experience of playing Doc Ock in Spider-Man 2.

"It's not like anything most of us do in the course of our work," Molina said of playing a comic-book villain. "It's such a strange ... and clearly, it's its own world and has its own rules, its own conventions. The one thing you never hear from actors who are in a movie like this, whether you're playing a villain or a super-hero, is 'Well, I don't know anybody who could do this.' Because, the thing is, it's a whole different universe. And you have to embrace that. And be as authentic as you can.

"I'm having the time of my life. Playing villains is the perfect job, really because you get to be outrageous as you want to be. All bets are off."

Doc Ock was first revealed last summer at Comic-Con International in San Diego, and the character got a broader look last week with the release of a teaser-trailer.

Marvel's Avi Arad told The Continuum Molina has a big advantage over Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin: "You can see his face. He's not covered by a mask."

In other Spider-Man movie news:

* Kirsten Dunst's recent appearance on CBS' The Late Show with David Letterman will be rebroadcast on Wednesday, Dec. 31.

* The original Spider-Man movie lost out in Cinemax's recent contest. Ocean's Eleven was the film viewers voted on seeing on Christmas night.

* Expect an announcement from Upper Deck soon on its trading card set for Spider-Man 2.

PUNISHER MOVIE UPDATE

Gale Anne Hurd, producer of The Punisher movie, told The Continuum that the action in this film is much more practical than in her previous comics film, The Hulk.

"Ninety percent of the action in that was CGI, or interacting with a CGI character," Hurd said. "Where with this film, it's all in the screen.

"That's why Thomas Jane (who stars in the title role) trained for so long.
He started in February. He trained with a number of Navy SEALS, both hand-to-hand combat, all kinds of techniques, as well as all the guns and the other weapons. The NAVY Seals, the people in special forces, have a lot of tricks up there sleeves. Knives, claymore mines and grenades.

"It is a little different than the Hulk. It is nice that the character isn't CGI."

Associate producer Ari Arad noted that the Punisher has always been formidable in the Marvel Universe, even against more powerful foes.

"The thing with the Punisher is that he could go toe-to-toe with all those guys and he did it without super powers," Arad said. "Sort of with his rage and his resolve. The weird thing is he's the guy with no powers, and you never question it when you read it."

Jane said his Punisher will be take a "get-the-job-done" approach to fighting. He said he is approaching Frank Castle as a real person.

"It's pretty much your interpretation, to the best of your knowledge, of how this person behaves, thinks and does what he does," Jane said. "I treat Frank Castle the exact same way. As a real, living, breathing human being. And I'm giving my interpretation to him."

TEEN TITANS ANIMATED UPDATE

Ashley Johnson will provide the voice of Terra in the upcoming second season of Cartoon Network's Teen Titans animated series.

Johnson, 20, is perhaps best known as Chrissy Seaver from the sitcom Growing Pains. She has provided the voice of Gretchen in Recess.

Terra will be featured in "Terra," the episode scheduled to premiere on Saturday, Jan. 24.

Here's how Cartoon Network describes the episode:

"The Teen Titans meet Terra, a small teenage girl with big powers. Gifted with amazing earth-moving abilities, Terra can make rocks fly, mountains crumble, and the ground tremble beneath her feet. At first, it seems like this young hero might make a great addition to the team. But Terra has a secret, and only Slade knows the truth."

Look for more Teen Titans news soon here in The Continuum.

ALIEN VS. PREDATOR MOVIE UPDATE

As part of its 2004 preview, 20th Century Fox has released a new image from the Alien vs. Predator movie, due in theaters on Aug. 6.

"The iconic monsters from two of the scariest film franchises ever, battle each other on Earth for the first time on film. The discovery of an ancient pyramid buried in Antarctica sends a team of scientists and adventurers to the frozen continent. There, they make an even more terrifying discovery: two alien races engaged in the ultimate battle. No matter who wins, we lose."

Click on the thumbnail for a larger image.

Fox's 2004 movie presentation did not include Fantastic Four, which has been moved from a Christmas release to a likely early July 2005 release.

SMALLVILLE UPDATE

Smallville star Tom Welling made the publicity rounds in New York City on Monday to promote his new film, Cheaper by the Dozen, but also spoke briefly about Smallville.

"I think there's a little bit of that in everybody," Welling said about Clark Kent's journey of self-discovery during an appearance on ABC's The View. "We're all trying to figure out who we are. At least in my 26 years on this planet, I've learned that growing up you have these things that are different about you and you just want to fit into this norm. And as you grow up, you learn that there is no norm and that everyone is crazy.

"And you've got to take these things that make you an individual and you use them to plow your way through life."

Welling also appeared on ABC's Good Morning America and MTV's Total Request Live.

In other Smallville news:

* The next new episode, "Asylum," will air on Wednesday, Jan. 14.

* Welling will appear on NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly on Tuesday night.

DOUBLE DOSE OF EL CAZADOR

The 80-page Collected Edition contains the first three issues of the
series and will cost $4.95. The first two issues are sold out from Diamond, and CrossGen reprots that #3 is "going fast."

Below are five pages from El Cazador #4, by Chuck Dixon and Steve Epting.

Here's how CrossGen describes the issue:

"Redhand Harry and his cackling
crew set their sights on Captain Sin's ship. Will the vengeful mistress of
the seas be blown out of the water before she can hunt down the fiends that
kidnapped her family?"

Click on the thumbnails for larger views.

WANTED #1 GOES BACK TO PRESS

Top Cow Productions is printing a new edition of Wanted #1 called the "Death Row" Edition.

Featuring a re-designed J.G. Jones cover, the second printing will run 32 pages with no ads, feature the entire story of Wanted #1 and include eight bonus pages of material such as character designs, omitted panels, cover layouts and more.

Wanted #1 Death Row Edition will ship to stores on Jan. 21, the same day that Wanted #2 will hit stands.

Regarding the new bonus material, Top Cow editor-in-chief Jim McLauchlin said, "I've always said if you're gonna be a bear - 'be a grizzly!' Anything worth doing is worth doing large. So instead of just running the same ol' book out there, we figured we'd give real added value. There are eight pages worth of cool, DVD-extra-type material here. It was a great book to start with, and now it's a great book with a very cool look behind the curtain."

"I'm so excited over the second printing that I may need a hernia operation, 'cause I'm about to bust a gut," Jones said. "It's nice, as the artist, to be able to show a little of the latticework and structure that goes into the making of the book. There's a lot that 'lies beneath' that readers rarely get the chance to see. Well, now here's your chance."

"We wanted to create a way where people who couldn't find a current copy of Wanted #1 could jump into the story without missing a beat," says Joel Elad, Top Cow director of marketing and sales. "This way, readers can scoop up the first two issues in one shot, and enjoy the bonus material to really get into the story and get their money's worth."

BRIEFLY

This week's episode of the syndicated Mutant X television series will be a repeat of "Hand of God."

A representative of Showtime told The Continuum that the remaining episodes of Jeremiah will air "mid-2004."

Warner Home Video has announced a March 2 release for the following DVDs: Adventures of Batman & Robin: Poison Ivy/The Penquin, Adventures of Batman & Robin: The Joker/Fire & Ice, Batman Beyond: School Dayz/Spellbound and Batman Beyond: Tech Wars/Disappearing Inque. Click on the thumbnails below for larger images.

Catwoman's Halle Berry will be featured on Extra on Tuesday.

The Saturday, Jan. 3 episode of Tutenstein on NBC will be "The Powerful One."

Sources tell The Continuum that Night Thrasher remains in development as a live-action series for UPN.

Coming Wednesday: DC news -- and much more!!!

COMICS CONTINUUM BACK ISSUES

In case you missed The Continuum's recent coverage, here are some links: